Acetylene-gas generator.



G. W. HOLM ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR APPLICATION FILED D120. 23, 1912.

1,079,766. Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

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APPLICATION FILED DBO. 23.1912.

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CHARLES WESLEY HOLM, OF TROY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO MARY B. HOLM, OF TROY,

' OHIO.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 25,1913.

Application filed December 23, 1912. Serial No. 738,182.

To all whom. it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES W. HOLM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Troy, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Generators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the ac companying drawing.

This invention relates to generators for acetylene gas and the object of the invention is to provide a generator of this kind which will be exceedingly simple in its construction and operation and which will at the same time possess a high degree of efliciency; to provide a' novel connection between the carbid container and the bell adapted to constitute in itself an automatic valve which will cut olf the supply of carbid upon the rise at a certain point of the bell; to provide a novel means for agitating the carbid contained in said connection so as to prevent the carbid from clogging said connection; and further, to provide such a generator as can be manufactured and installed at a very low price and will require little or no attention to maintain it in operating condition.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view taken vertically through a generator embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse, sectional view taken on the line 50 w of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows, the carbid container being shown in elevation; Fig. 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken on the line 3/ y of F ig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a detail view of the guide for the gasometer bell; Fig. 5 is a detail view of the agitator; and Fig. 6 is a sectional, detail view of the suction pipe connection with a sludge pump.

In these drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention and have shown the same as comprising a main tank or receptacle 1 which forms the generating chamber and which may be formed of any desirable material. One very satisfactory method of building the generator is to construct this main receptacle 1 of concrete and embed it entirely in the ground.

Mounted within the main receptacle 1 is an inverted dome or gasometer bell 2 which is free to rise and fall within the main receptacle as the gas accumulates and is consumed and is provided on each side with vertical guideways 3 to receive fixed guides, such as the pins 4 mounted on the upper portion of the main receptacle 1. The carbid is supported in a suitable container above the receptacle and gasometer bell and, in the present instance, this container is shown at 5 and is mounted in the 1 upper portion of a housing 6 which extends upward from the main receptacle 1 and forms a closure for the upper portion there of. The carbid is fed from the container 5 to the generating chamber by means of a suitable conduit, the lower portion of which is capable of movement and is adapted to be raised and lowered as the gasometer bell rises and falls. The conduit is in open communication with the container and with the generating chamber and the flow of the carbell, which opening is entirely closed by the.

connection between the tubing and the gasometer bell. It will be apparent that when the bell is in its lowermost position and the tubing is inclined from the container to its point of connection with the bell the carbid will flow through the conduit or tubing to the generating chamber which, of course, contains a suitable quantity of water. As soon as the carbid enters the water the generation of gas will cause the bell to rise, in the usual manner, thus carrying upward the lower portion of the conduit or tube 7. As this portion of the tubing is raised the flow of the carbid through the same will be gradually reduced and then checked altogether, thereby interrupting the feed of the carbid until the gas within the bell has been consumed to such an extent that the conduit will again assume such a position as will permit the carbid to pass through the same by gravity.

It will be noted that the conduit is connected with the hopper at one side of the vertical center of the bell and that it does not extend downward on a straight line to its point of connection with the bell but on the contrary is curved on a long radius about the center of the bell so that as the bell rises the conduit will position itself along the circumference of the bell and rest thereon. This construction prevents the forming of a short bend in the conduit and materially prolongs the life of the same, as well as tending to prevent clogging of the tube and avoiding other undesirable features which might otherwise be present.

In order to prevent any possibility of the tube choking or the feed of the carbid becoming restricted a suitable agitator may, if desired, be provided which will at the proper time agitate or vibrate the tube and thus dislodge any carbid which may have become lodged therein and cause the same to be fed to the generating chamber. This agitator may be of any suitable character. As here shown it consists of a lever or hammer 8 pivotally mounted on a bracket 9 carried by the upper part of the hell 2 and having a head 10 to engage the tube 7, this head being here shown as concave to fit about the tube. This arm or hammer is pivoted between its ends on the bracket 9 and a spring 11 tends to move the head 10 toward the tube. The opposite end of the arm, which is preferably provided with a roller 12, rides over the edge of a fixed guide or bar 13 which, in the present instance, is mounted directly upon the main receptacle 1. This guide has along its inner edge, which is engaged by the roller 12, a series of recesses 14. The position of the guide with relation to the lever 8 is such that as the gasometer bell 2 moves down the roller 12 will ride over the inner edge of the bar, move the arm or lever about its axis and draw the head 10 thereof away from the tube. The recesses 14 are so arranged in the bar that the roller will enter the same as the bell approaches the lower limit of'its movement and after the tube 7 has assumed a feeding position. hen the roller passes the upper edge of the recess it will be moved down quickly by the action of the spring 11 and the head of the bar caused to strike a sharp blow against the tube 7 thus jarring or vibrating the same. If this does not start the feed of the carbid and the bell moves downward still farther a succession of blows will be struck in the same manner.

A house service pipe 15 extends from a purifier 15 of any suitable type which is supported within the housing above the gas ometer, and the purifier is connected with the gasometer by means of a flexible pipe 16, said pipe serving to permit the rise and fall of said gasometer.

I preferably also provide suitable means for removing the consumed carbid from the bottom of the receptacle 1 and for this purpose I preferably provide suitable connec: tions whereby the suction rod of a pump may be caused to communicate with the bottom of the receptacle 1. Preferably, the pump is detachable from the generator and is only attached thereto when it is desired to remove the sludge. I have here shown such a pump at 17 and have illustrated the same as mounted upon the upper portion of the housing 6. This pump has a suction pipe 18 which extends downward through the housing 6 and through a central tube or passageway 19 in the bell 2 so that its lower end will be immersed in the sludge at the bottom of the receptacle 1. In order that the sludge may be satisfactorily removed it is desirable that it should be agitated in such a manner that it can be drawn in through the suction pipe 18. This I preferably accomplish by providing the bell 2 with agitators, such, for example, as the wedge-shaped lugs 20 which are rigidly secured to the lower part of the bell. The movement may be imparted to the bell in any suitable manner. In the present instance the suction pipe 18 is provided with laterally extending wings 21 arranged to enter slots 22 in the upper end of the tube or passageway 19, thereby rigidly connecting the tube 18 with the bell 2. Thus by manipulating the pump the bell can be partially rotated within the receptacle 1 and the residue agitated by the lu s 20 and loosened from the bottom thereof. In order to permit of this movement of the bell the upper portions of the guideways 3 are flared, as shown at 23, thus permitting a certain amount of rotary movement to be imparted to the bell without disconnecting it from its guide.

Such a device is very simple in its operation and can be manufactured at a very low cost and it will be understood that while I have shown and described one particular embodimentof the invention this has been chosen for the purpose of illustration only and I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a generator, the combination, with a generating receptacle, and an inverted bell communicating with said receptacle and capable of vertical movement relatively thereto, of a carbid container supported above said receptacle, a flexible conduit connecting the container and bell, and a device controlled by the movement of said bell for imparting vibratory movement to said conduit.

2. In a generator, the combination, with a receptacle forming a generating chamber, an inverted bell mounted in said generating chamber and capable of vertical movement relatively thereto, and a carbid container mounted above said chamber, of a flexible conduit extending from said container to said generating chamber, a connection between said bell and the lower portion of said conduit to cause the lower portion of said conduit to rise and fall with said bell, and an agitator controlled by the movement of said bell and adapted to engage said conduit.

3. In a generator, the combination, with a receptacle forming a generating chamber, an inverted bell mounted in said generating chamber and capable of vertical movement relatively thereto, and a carbid container mounted above said chamber, of a flexible conduit extending from said container to said generating chamber, a connection between said bell and the lower portion of said conduit to cause the lower portion of said conduit to rise and fall with said bell, an agitating device mounted on said bell and arranged to engage said conduit, and a device mounted upon a fixed part of said generator to control the operation of said agitator.

4. In a generator, the combination with a generating receptacle, and an inverted bell mounted in said receptacle and capable of vertical movement relative thereto, of a carbid container supported above said receptacle, a flexible conduit connecting the container and bell, a vertically disposed guide mounted on said receptacle and formed with a series of recesses, and an agitator carried by the bell and engageable with-the notches of said guide to vibrate the conduit whereby the carbid will be fed to said bell.

5. In a generator, the combination with a generating receptacle, and an inverted bell mounted in said receptacle and capable of vertical movement relative thereto, of a carbid container supported above said receptacle, a flexible conduit connecting the container and bell, an agitator carried by the bell consisting of a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends upon said bell and having one end engageable with the conduit, the other end of said lever carrying a roller engageable with the notches of the guide to shift the lever during movement of said bell, and means for yieldably holding said roller in engagement with said guide.

6. In an acetylene generator, the combination, with a generating chamber, an inverted bell communicating with said chamber, and a carbid receptacle supported above said bell, of a flexible conduit connected with said receptacle and said bell, the points of connection of said flexible conduit with said receptacle and said bell being so arranged relatively one to the other that said conduit will extend from one point to the other in a long curve about a vertical axis, whereby the rise of said bell will raise the end of said conduit and check the feed of the carbid without forming a sharp bend in said conduit. k

7. In an acetylene generator, the combination, with a generating chamber, an inverted bell communicating with said chamber, and a carbid receptacle supported above said bell and having its discharge opening arranged at one side of the vertical center of said bell, of a flexible conduit connected with said discharge opening, extending downward therefrom, about the circumference of said bell and connected with said hell on a radius remote from the radial plane of its connection with said receptacle, whereby the rise of said bell will raise the end of said conduit and check the feed of the carbid without forming a sharp bend in said conduit.

8. In an acetylene generator, the combination, with a generating chamber, an in verted bell communicating withsaid chamber, a carbid receptacle supported above said bell, and a flexible conduit connecting said receptacle with said bell, of means to agitate the material in said conduit to pre vent it from clogging the same.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of witnesses.

CHARLES WESLEY HOLM.

Witnesses:

MARY BELLE HOLM, ELLA HOBAN, CLIFF SHRIMPLIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing 'the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

